Extraction
by newyorklghts
Summary: They found her while in a dream and one of them is drawn to her, but someone is after them all and its time for another heist. Can she help them or will her connection with the point man cause trouble for them all?
1. Chapter 1

Arthur and Dom sat at the café, studying Ariadne's latest construction. They were back in the business, taking the occasional job. It was one last job, that's what they said every time. Perhaps this time they meant it though, but a girl sitting at a nearby table was about to change everything for them. Arthur stretched his lean body, leaning back as he glanced about. Discussing plans while in a dream was something new for them. He briefly studied the girl wondering where Dom had seen her.

"What are you looking at," Dom asked following his gaze.

"Do you remember where you saw her," Arthur asked curiously. She sat two tables away reading a book. She wore jeans with a white top under a dark blue blazer. A cream colored fedora hid her hair from view.

Dom turned back to him and dropped his voice, "I've never seen her before."

Arthur's face furled in confusion. "She wouldn't be here if you hadn't seen her, she's your projection."

"Trust me I would remember seeing her," Dom replied. He turned slightly and glanced at the girl again. "Tell me we are in a dream."

Arthur leaned back and watched the girl as he spoke, "You know this is all a dream. None of its real."

All the other projections turned to look at him leveling him with deadly stares. The girl didn't even look up from her book, she continued to read as though what she was doing was completely normal.

"It seems like a dream you mean," Dom replied soothing the projections as he stood up and approached the girl. Arthur rose to follow. Dom pulled out the chair next to her and sat down without a word. Arthur sat on her other side glancing briefly at her book, The Great Gatsby.

"I don't think we've met," Dom said firmly.

The girl didn't look up from her page, "No, we haven't."

She continued reading completely at ease. Arthur was puzzled by her reaction, here she was in someone else's dream, not at all concerned. Dom glanced at him briefly before trying again.

"What are you doing here?"

"Reading," she said softly as she flipped the page. Arthur reached out and took the book from her hands. Her ice blue eyes met his dark brown ones for a long moment. "That's mine."

Arthur closed the book and set it on the table. "How did you get here?"

"I walked," she said, a sigh in her voice. She maintained eye contact with him, smirking slightly. "How did you get here?"

"You know how," Dom pointed out.

"I wasn't speaking to you," she said, looking at him for the first time. "If you really want to know, I was sent to keep tabs on you. There are people who pay a lot of money to know what you are doing, what you are both doing."

"But how…," Dom started to ask.

"You're a Walker aren't you," Arthur asked.

Every projection within earshot turned in their direction staring directly at the girl. She blinked once, twice, and Arthur couldn't help but notice how long her eyelashes were. Her lips pursed slightly, puckering as though she found something terribly amusing, but wasn't going to share it with the group.

"It's been wonderful boys, but I have to go," she replied before disappearing without a trace. Her book remained on the table the eyes on the cover staring up at Arthur.

"Who was she," Dom demanded.

"A dream walker," Arthur said as he woke up. "She's a dream walker."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"A dream walker," Dom said indifferently. "They don't exist Arthur, no one can do what we do without the machine."

"Some people can Dom, for whatever reason they can do it," Arthur replied. "I'd wager she doesn't even have to be asleep. She just does it."

"We need to find her."

"How do you suggest we do that," Arthur asked.

"We're going to need help," Dom said before pulling out his cell phone. "Eames, I need your help with something. You interested in a job?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows at Dom. What could the Forger do? How was he going to help them track the girl down?

"I can't tell you about it over the phone, we're in Paris as usual," Dom said meeting Arthur's gaze. He shrugged slightly and cocked his head to the side as the door opened behind Arthur.

"Well that's convenient darlings, I was in the mood for a stroll down memory lane and here we all are," Eames called as he snapped his phone shut. "How are you Arthur? Keeping yourself out of trouble?"

"I do what I can Eames I'm not nearly as… adventurous as you are though," Arthur commented as he took in Eames' appearance.

"Well, one of us as to dress like a modern man instead of schoolboy Arthur," Eames replied with a smug smile. "What can I do for you chaps? Please tell me it's not another inception."

"Not quite," Arthur said lowly.

Dom shot him a look before explaining their situation. "We were just in a dream, but we ran into someone else there," Dom explained.

"Someone else," Eames asked.

"A dream walker," Arthur replied.

"Interesting, you're sure," Eames asked.

"I've never seen her before, I would remember someone like that. There was something about her, she's not the type of person you forget. She said people were paying her a lot of money to keep tabs on us," Dom explained.

"Have you ever seen her before Arthur," Eames asked. Arthur shook his head in response. "What did she look like?"

"She was young, mid-twenties maybe, wore jeans, a blazer, and a fedora. I think her hair was red, but most of it was under the hat," Dom explained.

"Her eyes," Eames asked.

Dom looked at Arthur for the answer. "Blue, incredibly blue," Arthur said avoiding the gaze of his partners.

"Did she have anything with her? A totem of some sort?"

"She was reading a book," Dom replied.

"The Great Gatsby," Arthur supplied. "Any idea who she is?"

Eames sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. "I can do one better than that loves, would you like to meet her?" With that he reopened his cell and dialed a number. "Isabella, darling how are you?"

Eames nodded as he listened to the response. He rolled his eyes at one of her statements before plowing on. "I'm calling for a reason love, I'm in Paris, and it made me think of you. I simply had to call my little sister for a chat," Eames said subtle sarcasm dripping off every word. "You're in Paris too, how convenient, are you free for dinner?"

Dom and Arthur exchanged glances before looking back at Eames. He was related to a dream walker and failed to mention it to the team? That was crucial information.

"Why don't you meet me darling," Eames said smoothly before providing her with the address to the large flat they were currently in. "See you then love."

"You know a dream walker," Dom asked sharply. "You didn't think that was something we should know?"

"She'll be here at 6," Eames said with a shrug. "She's family, I wasn't going to let her be used for her talent."

"Talent," Dom said incredulously. "She's not traipsing through your dreams Eames. She broke into my mind and I for one want to know how she did it!"

"Dom," Arthur said calmly holding out a hand to get him to back off. "Eames had his reasons to not tell us, until now she wasn't a problem."

"She's still not a problem," Eames said easily.

"She's keeping tabs on us," Dom shouted angrily. He pulled his totem out of his pocket and began to spin it on the nearest table. "She's spying on us, either she joins us or…"

"Or what Dom," Arthur asked turning to look at him.

"We deal with her."

"Deal with who," another voice asked. In the midst of the argument Ariadne had entered unnoticed.

"Hello love," Eames said jovially wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "It's been ages!"

She laughed softly as she hugged him back. "It's only been 6 months Eames," she pointed out with a smile. "Who are we dealing with?"

They all exchanged glances. They preferred to keep Ariadne out of the more troublesome areas of the job. This was one area they didn't want her involved in anyway.

"Arthur's new girl, she's dreadful love," Eames said cheerfully.

Ariadne raised her eyebrows, trying to hide the look of betrayal that flashed across her face. She had thought that there was something between herself and Arthur. Apparently she was wrong. "I'm sure she's lovely," she said with a forced smile.

Dom stared at her in confusion before admitting the truth. "She's not Arthur's new girl, we are dealing with a dream walker. It would be best if you lay low for a couple of days until we get this sorted out."

"What's a dream walker," she asked.

"They can do what we do, without the machines and other tools, somehow they manage to just appear in your dream undetected," Arthur explained.

"But this one revealed herself to us," Dom said angrily, "we are going to deal with it tonight."

"You've already located her?"

"She's in Paris," Dom said quickly.

"You fail to mention that she is my sister," Eames said snidely.

Ariadne's eyebrows shot up at his statement. "Your sister? You didn't think to share that information with the rest of us?"

"That's what we want to know," Dom replied.

"He has his reasons," Arthur said defending Eames, which was also surprising.

"Thank you Arthur, not that I need your support, but thank you. Yes I had my reasons. It's not something one likes to advertise if you catch my drift. I wouldn't be surprised if she is tailing the two of you under duress."

"It's a possibility," Arthur replied.

"I don't care why she is doing it! I want to know who she is working for and how we can keep her out," Dom shouted.

"You can't," Eames answered. "There is no way to keep her out once she's been in your mind."

Dom began spinning his top again staring at it as he weighed their options. "What if we chose to take her in with us? Can she get out if she's sedated like the rest of us?"

Eames chose his words carefully. "She can't get out if she's under, her mind won't cooperate with her."

"Then we put her under once she gets here and we find out what this is all about," Dom said decisively.

"Why do we have to put her under? Wouldn't a conversation suffice," Arthur asked.

"I don't think she'll be cooperative," Eames said simply. "You should leave love." He looked at Ariadne briefly before moving to sit down. "You won't want to see this, it could get ugly."

"She's your sister, you're not going to hurt her are you?"

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Eames replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Quick note, just wanted to say thanks for the support and the reviews, especially Cinliz, whose review was so sweet and included a bribe of cookies for an update so here you have it darlings!**

Chapter 3

After much convincing, Ariadne left with a promise that one of them would call her when they had the answers they were looking for. She glanced once more at Arthur before wandering out. Eames watched her go before turning his attention back to Arthur.

"Arthur, I know you are a stick in the mud, but can you not see that girl has a bit of a thing for you? I don't know what she sees in a chap like you though," Eames pointed out.

Arthur glanced briefly at Eames before turning back to his work. "I'm not interested in a relationship," he finally said, avoiding Dom's gaze.

"You can't let what happened to me stop you Arthur," Dom said gently.

"It has nothing to do with you Dom. I'm just not interested in Ariadne in that way, besides it would complicate things for the team."

"You have a point there," Eames said before glancing at his watch. "She'll be here any minute. How do you want to do this?"

"I think you should ask her that when she gets here," Dom said as he leaned against a table and crossed his arms.

Arthur had been doing research on Isabella Eames since Ariadne had left. Not a lot had come up aside from numerous hospitalizations, but he couldn't find the reason behind some them. "Eames why did she spend so much time…," Arthur started to ask but was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Showtime," Dom said clapping his hands together.

Eames got up and headed toward the front door. Arthur and Dom waited silently as Eames ushered the girl back to them. Arthur wished her appearance didn't affect him the way it did. She wore a green dress and black heels, her hair loose around her face in perfect, red curls.

"I should have known," she said softly. Her brother stood behind her blocking her exit. She looked back at him over her shoulder. "So are we doing this the easy or hard way?"

"That's up to you Isabella," Dom said cutting straight to the chase. "Who do you work for?"

"I can't tell you that," she said, her hands tightening on her clutch.

"Who are you working for," Dom said each word staccato and concise.

Isabella stared at him for a moment before smirking. "I heard you the first time, but apparently you didn't hear me, I can't tell you that Dom."

"You should cooperate," Dom suggested.

"You should go back to your children," Isabella snapped.

Dom's hands clenched reflexively into fists. "Just tell us who you are working for and what they want."

"I told you what they want earlier today," she replied. She flipped her hair over her shoulder before meeting Dom's gaze again. "I am simply keeping tabs on your activities."

"Why both of us? Why not just me," Dom asked.

"Where one goes the other isn't far behind," Isabella replied glancing briefly at Arthur. "You should really choose your business partners better."

"Who hired you," Dom asked again. Isabella stared him unwilling to revel her boss. "Fine you leave us no choice, Eames."

"Sorry love," Eames said before pushing her into a chair. Arthur opened the silver box and pulled a lead for her arm.

"No, you can't," she shouted.

"Tell us who you are working for," Dom said as Arthur prepared to push in the needle.

"I can't they will have me killed! You can't use that on me," she said quickly.

Arthur hesitated glancing at Eames, who was staring at Dom. "Arthur," Dom snapped.

"I'm sorry," Arthur whispered before pushing in the needle and starting her sedation.

"No, I'm…," she trailed off as she fell asleep.

Dom and Eames grabbed the other two leads and quickly put themselves under with her. Arthur sat silently for a moment wondering what she was trying to tell them. He found out soon enough when her breathing became unusually labored, like her throat was closing. Arthur leapt out of his chair as her body went into spasms. He yanked the lead out of her arm and checked her pulse. The spasm subsided but her breathing was getting worse.

Arthur grabbed her clutch and searched through it for a hint as to what was happening to her. He discovered the typical purse contents: a lipstick, a compact, a phone, a set of keys, some hair pins. At the bottom sat a hypodermic needle and a small gold elephant statue though. That was why she spent so much time in hospitals over the years, rare and severe allergic reactions. Arthur hit her in the neck with the needle and sat back on his heels. He checked the pulse in her wrist as someone gasped awake behind him.

"What the hell is going on," Eames demanded. He immediately noticed the needle in Arthur's other hand. "Shit."

"Should we take her to the hospital," Arthur asked nervously.

"No," Isabella croaked. Her eyes fluttered open and glanced down at Arthur. "No hospitals."

"Wake Dom," Arthur said quickly. "You should have told us."

"I tried," Isabella said tiredly.

Eames kicked Dom's chair over causing him to grunt loudly. Dom sat up and stared at Isabella. "What happened?"

"Aside from the fact that we almost killed her? Nothing," Arthur replied.

"She's allergic to the sedative," Eames explained.

"You didn't think that was important information either," Dom asked.

"I didn't know," Eames cried. "Are you all right love?"

Everyone stared expectantly at Isabella, waiting for her response. "I'm fine you idiots, it's not the first time something like this has happened. I would love to tell you who I am working for, but in all honesty I was hired by a field agent and it was abundantly clear that my cooperation was necessary to my survival. I don't know who they are."

She rubbed her neck where Arthur had used the needle. "Little lower next time love, it will work faster," she said as she leaned forward.

"What sort of 'tabs' are you keeping on us," Arthur asked as he passed her the needle.

She stuck it back in her purse before looking up at him. "I tell them where you are, whether or not you are working, but not what you are working on, whoever is paying me isn't interested in what you are up to, simply the fact that you are up to something."

"And you have no idea who is paying you," Dom asked.

"As I said, it was made quite clear that my cooperation was necessary for my survival," Isabella said again.

"How do you do it? Dream walk I mean," Dom asked.

Isabella pushed her hair off her face and glanced briefly at Arthur before looking back at Dom. "It's difficult to explain how I do it, I'm not entirely sure how I get into someone else's mind. It's almost like meditation, I don't have to be asleep to get in, but the subject does. I slip into the dream undetected, sometimes I have to create a dream to enter. Once inside the mind you don't know I'm there unless I let you know, like I did today."

"Why did you let us know," Dom asked.

Isabella looked at Arthur and held his steady gaze for a long moment before speaking. "I knew I could trust you," she finally said.

Arthur continued to hold her gaze as he spoke, "Can you control aspects of dreams you don't create?"

"I can manipulate a dream to suit my needs or whims if I'm in the mood."

"How so," Dom asked.

"I didn't like the shirt Arthur was wearing at the beginning of the dream, so I changed it," Isabella explained. "The changes I make to a dream have to be done quickly and subtlety otherwise it destroys the illusion of the dream and the dreamer wakes up to early."

"You took a major risk changing his shirt," Eames pointed out.

"I only changed the color, neither of them noticed though. Have neither of you considered that there are people in this world that would want to extract information from you? I didn't encounter any resistance getting into your mind Dom," Isabella said.

"I wasn't aware my mind needed to be guarded against dream walkers," Dom snapped. He glanced briefly at Arthur before returning his attention to Isabella. "Have you ever been in Arthur's mind?"

"No," Isabella said quickly. "I was only told to get into yours."

"Show me how you do it, break into Arthur's dream," Dom said firmly.

"It's not that simple," Isabella protested. "It takes time to prepare something like that, I can't just stroll into his mind, and I have to know what I am going into. I spent a lot of time observing you before I could enter your mind Dom, Arthur was a side mission. I was simply making sure he was with you, nothing more. The moment he left I was supposed to notify my employer."

"But you saw something you liked, didn't you love," Eames asked with a smirk. Isabella shot him a warning glance but didn't speak. "What is about you Arthur? You've got all the beautiful girls dying for your attention."

Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise as he glanced from Eames to Isabella. He looked over his shoulder at Dom before he stood up and moved toward a chair.

"Ariadne will be thrilled to hear about this," Eames said sarcastically.

"There's nothing to tell," Isabella snapped.

"The blush on your face says otherwise," Eames replied.

"Enough," Dom said sharply. "How long do you need before you can enter Arthur's mind?"

"Why does she have to enter my mind," Arthur asked.

"Because she's already been in mine and I'm sure Eames knows how to keep her out. I'm not letting her near Ariadne, so it has to be you," Dom replied calmly. "If anyone will be able to tell she's there it will be you Arthur. We both know you're more observant than I am when it comes to dream elements."

"I'll need two maybe three days," Isabella said.

"All right, in three days you'll come back here and show us how you do it whatever it is you do," Dom said. "Until then Arthur don't let her out of your sight, I don't want her skipping town."

"So now I'm babysitting," Arthur said in frustration.

"Oh, he's a charming fellow," Isabella commented exchanging a glance with her brother. "I'm not any happier about this than you are dear, but let's make the best of bad situation, shall we?"

"Fine, but you are staying at my place," Arthur said as he stood up.

"Sounds delightful," Isabella replied smugly. She pushed herself out of the chair, a little unsteady on her feet. She wobbled for a moment before reaching out and putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. She quickly stepped out of her heels and picked them up off the floor. "Shall we?"

Arthur motioned for her to lead the way before following after her silently. Eames chuckled softly as he watched them head toward the door. "Stop staring at my little sister's ass Arthur," he called before the door shut.

"Is there anything else I need to know about your family," Dom asked in irritation.

"No, the rest of them are dead," Eames said with a shrug. "I give them 24 hours before they are ready to kill one another. Isabella can be quite difficult when she wants to be."


	4. Chapter 4

**My Christmas gift to all of you! Enjoy and have a happy holiday!**

Chapter 4

Isabella paused briefly outside the building to get her bearings. She ran a hand through her curls and glanced briefly at Arthur. "I'll need to collect some things from my place first," she said carefully.

"How far is it," Arthur asked. He couldn't help but notice the way she was leaning against the building. Obviously the sedation had done quite a number on her, and she was simply pretending to be unaffected.

"Not far, it's at the end of this street and around the corner. They wanted me to be close to where the two of you were working," Isabella explained. "Where are you staying?"

Arthur pointed toward the opposite end of the street. "End of the street and around the corner, I like to be near the workshop."

Isabella smiled slightly and pushed away from the wall. She could still feel the sedative working its way through her system. "I'm sorry about all of this," she said as she wandered down the street slowly.

Arthur reached out and grabbed her elbow pulling her out of the way of an oncoming vehicle. "Are you all right," he asked.

Isabella met his gaze and was surprised to see concern in it. She hadn't pegged Arthur as the one to fall for the beautiful girl, the smart one certainly, but to fall purely based on looks was unexpected. Of course it happened all the time and Arthur was still human despite all of his armor and control. Even the way he dressed showed a man who took himself and his job incredibly seriously. "Have you ever considered a different wardrobe," she asked. "Perhaps some jeans or a t-shirt?"

Arthur continued to stare at her with concern. "I asked you a question, do you always answer a question with a question?"

Isabella pulled her arm out of his grasp and continued to walk down the street. When she reached the corner she made a left and headed toward the nearest apartment building. The sedative was taking its toll as she darted across the street, she stumbled over her own feet falling to the cobblestone street. A car horn caused her to look up gasping in surprise. A car slammed on its brakes, narrowly avoiding hitting her.

Arthur rushed after her, pulling her up out of the street. The driver shouted at them angrily in French as Arthur led her out of the street. He leaned her against the wall as he stared at her. "What is the matter with you," he demanded in annoyance.

"You did this," she said softly. "The sedative, it's still in my system, my body doesn't know how to deal with it and fight the reaction at the same time." Isabella turned away from him and laughed softly.

Arthur grabbed both of her arms at the elbows to make her focus on him. She flinched and struggled to pull her right arm away from him. Arthur pulled his hand back and found blood on his fingers. "Be still, you're hurt," he ordered as he examined her arm. She'd scrapped it against the cobblestone when she fell. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Isabella tugged up her dress enough to reveal her knee and part of her thigh. The skin was already bruising and there was a deep scrape up her leg. "Are you going to kiss it and make it better," Isabella asked, sarcasm dripping from her words. "I'm sure that girl Eames was talking about would love that."

"You don't know her, so please stop talking about her," Arthur asked avoiding her gaze.

"I see I've hit a nerve," Isabella commented as Arthur pulled her uninjured arm around his neck. Without a word he picked her up and carried her inside the building.

"Which floor," he asked tersely. Arthur didn't want to discuss Ariadne with Isabella. He was drawn to Ariadne when they first met, but she was so young. There were things about this job, his job, which she would never understand, that he didn't want her to understand. It was for that reason that he kept her at arm's length, never letting himself get to close to her.

"The third one," Isabella said softly as she rested her head against his shoulder. She struggled to remain conscious as Arthur entered the elevator. "Don't let me fall asleep."

"Will you dream," he asked. He had gathered enough research about her to know that she had things to dream about, they weren't good dreams.

"Yes," she whispered, her head shifting against his shoulder. Her lips brushed against his neck accidently making his pulse jump. Her right hand rested against his chest as the elevator came to a stop and he stepped out. "Number 6, at the end."

Arthur carried her down the hallway and carefully sat her down on the floor. She leaned her head against the wall as she handed him her clutch. Arthur opened it and pulled out her key, quickly sticking it in the lock. "The elephant, is it your totem?"

"In a dream I can tip it on its hind legs and it won't tip over, in reality it falls over every time." Arthur leaned down and picked her back up. He carried her through the open door looking around for a place to put her down. He noticed a chaise next to a window and headed toward it.

"Nice place," he commented as he took in all the books and art scattered on the shelves and walls of the apartment. He noticed an easel in the corner a canvas sitting on it. "You paint?"

"Stop asking questions, I'm tired," she mumbled as he set her down.

"You said to not let you sleep," he reminded her.

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad this time," she replied.

"Or maybe I'll have to wake you up when you start thrashing around screaming," Arthur snapped.

The look on her face showed that was her exact fear as she pushed him away from her. "Are you this sensitive with everyone you meet or am I just a special case?"

"Is it my fault you try my patience?"

"You don't have to rise to the occasion," she said with a smirk.

"Maybe you just bring out the best in me," he replied as he headed toward the kitchen. "You have coffee?"

"Um, second cabinet in the blue container, coffee pot is in the corner by the sink. There's a first aid kit under the sink too," she called. Isabella leaned her head back as she listened to Arthur move around in the kitchen.

"Keep talking," Arthur said as he leaned around the corner to look at her. "Tell me about yourself."

"I'm supposed to be learning about you," she replied as he disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Listening to me talk isn't going to keep you awake. Where did you grow up?"

"Stateside, in New York City. My mother was a socialite and my father a British business tycoon. They divorced when we were little, Mathew went to live with our father in London and I stayed with our mother. We switched for the summers," Isabella said struggling to stay awake.

Arthur reemerged from the kitchen carrying the first aid kit. He motioned for her to sit up as he approached. She slid back on the chaise allowing him room to sit with her. "Mathew?"

"Oh, Eames, don't tell him I told you his first name."

Arthur smirked slightly as he opened the box and dug through its contents. He pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a large cotton ball. He dosed the ball in alcohol before looking back up at Isabella. "This might sting a little," he said. He carefully pushed up the bottom of her dress to reveal the scrape on her leg. Arthur ran the swab across the length of the scrape causing Isabella's leg to flinch in his grasp.

"Yeah just a little," she said sarcastically.

Arthur leaned forward slightly and blew on the alcohol to soothe the sting. "Better?"

Isabella relaxed instead of answering. Arthur quickly finished cleaning her leg and placed a bandage over it. "Arm," he ordered. Isabella held out her arm letting him see the cut on her elbow. "Keep talking, did you go to college?"

"No, I discovered I could dream walk while I was in high school. At first I was terrified, but I did some research. Eames really helped, he knew another dream walker in London that I stayed with after I graduated. He taught me everything about dream walking, taught me a lot about life and heartbreak too."

"You fell in love with him?"

Isabelle flinched again as Arthur cleaned the other cut. "Yes, it was a torrid love affair we were all wrong for one another, but it worked for some strange reason. At least it worked for awhile. You've never fallen in love with a mentor before? Known it was wrong yet did it anyway? Broke all the rules because you knew the misery of being with them would be better than the pain of never knowing?"

"All of my mentors were men," Arthur replied.

"A little experimentation might do you good Arthur," Isabella said with a light laugh. "You take things entirely too seriously."

"I think it's safe to say that you don't take things serious enough."

"You don't know me well enough to make that judgment."

"I could say the same for you," Arthur said as he met her gaze. He held her gaze for a long moment before breaking it to move away. "Keep talking I'll be right back."

Isabella watched Arthur walk to kitchen utterly confused by the man. He was at one moment so simple and concise, and at the next complicated and defensive. Getting into his mind was going to be harder than she anticipated.

"You're not talking," Arthur called breaking her out of her reverie.

"Sorry, so after that ended, badly I might add, I traveled. No one expected me to get a job, I'm a socialite for all intensive purposes. I go where the work is, while I'm there I attend parties at night and break the law during the day… and at night too."

Arthur came back out of the kitchen and handed her a cup of coffee. He took off his suit jacket and draped over the back of a chair. "I think it would be best if we just stayed put for the evening."

Isabella took a sip of her coffee and watched him roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "There are some clothes in that basket, if you'd like to change," Isabella said pointing to a basket sitting near the front door.

Arthur glanced down at his clothes considering her offer. He spent most of his time in a suit or dress clothes. It was what he felt most comfortable in, he knew it conveyed a sense of power and control. He liked to be in control, needed to be in control. "Fine," he finally said. "Where did you get these?"

"Let's just say that is a chapter I'd rather not discuss, but he should be by sometime this week to pick up his things," Isabella said.

"Another torrid affair?"

"I wouldn't put it that way. My love life is an experiment in bad decision making. I've seen pretty much everything."

"I know," Arthur said looking back at her over his shoulder. "I did my research."

"You don't know anything," Isabella snapped growing angry at his assumption. "Simply reading something about me in a file doesn't tell you the truth behind the situation."

Arthur pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a blue t-shirt. He sat them both on the sofa and turned to look at her. "I know that you've spent a total of 120 days in the hospital since you were 18. Which doesn't seem like a lot but if you break it down that's a long time. I know about the car crash in Venice, the robbery in London, the…,"

Isabella cut off his next statement by throwing her now empty coffee cup at him. "Stop it," she shouted as the cup narrowly missed his head. "I know what I've been through! I don't you to parrot it back to me like a child who might forget their address! I wish I could forget, but I can't!"

Arthur was momentarily stunned by her outburst. It wasn't his intention to push her buttons like that, to bring up painful memories. "I'm sorry," he said softly. Isabella pushed herself off the chaise and moved toward her bedroom. She didn't look at him or speak as she headed toward the door. "Isabella I'm sorry."

"I don't care Arthur, it doesn't change anything," Isabella said finally turning to look at him. "There are things about yourself you don't want anyone to know because you think no one will understand, I feel the same way about the things you mentioned, even the things you didn't mention."

Arthur didn't know what to say at that moment. She was right, it was the reason he pushed people away. He didn't want them to get to close, to see the things he kept deep beneath his armor and control.

Isabella leaned against the wall too tired to go any farther. She slid down to the floor pulling her knees into her chest. She rested her head against the wall as she watched Arthur. He stood there battling with himself, searching for something to say. "Stop thinking Arthur," she said softly. His gaze snapped up to meet hers. "Just let it go, whatever you are holding onto so tightly, whatever it is that is stopping you from letting someone in, let it go."

His first impulse was to snap at her, to ask her if that was what she had done with all the men that had mistreated her. He opened his mouth to say something to her and noticed the way her eyelids were sliding closed. "Isabella," he said sharply as he crossed the room.

Arthur knelt in front of her and shook her gently. She mumbled something incoherently but continued to drift off into sleep. Arthur contemplated hitting her to wake her up, but decided against it. Maybe she simply needed to sleep it off.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Arthur lay on the sofa staring blankly up at the ceiling. Isabella had been asleep for 4 hours and he was still waiting for the nightmares to start. What he got instead was incomprehensible shouting in the hallway outside of the apartment followed by someone beating on the door. Arthur rose slowly from the sofa and moved toward the door. The lights weren't on in the living room, he hoped whoever it was would just go away assuming no one was at home.

Arthur carefully leaned against the door and peered through the peephole. A disheveled and drunk man stood on the other side, shouting in English. Arthur jumped back as the man began to pound on the door again.

"Open the damn door Isabella! I know you are in there," the man shouted.

Arthur moved further from the door when he heard soft footsteps behind him. Isabella paused in the doorway to her room and stared at him anxiously.

"You want me to call the police," Arthur asked.

"It won't help his father is head of the police here," Isabella replied. She jumped when the man kicked the door swearing violently.

"He's going to wake your neighbors," Arthur pointed out.

"I'm actually the only person staying on this floor." Isabella stepped out of her room and moved toward the door.

"What are you going to do," Arthur asked grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Give him his things and send him home," Isabella said confidently. To her ears she sounded more confident than she felt. If Gabriel realized there was another man in her apartment he would probably lose his mind with jealousy. He'd always been overly controlling with her.

"I don't think that is going to work." Arthur glanced away from Isabella and to the door. The pounding was increasing violently. He was going to beat the door down if he kept it up. "Maybe I should do it."

"If he sees you, it will only make things worse."

"And if he breaks down your door?"

Isabella pulled her arm out of Arthur's grasp and pointed him toward the bedroom. "You wait in there, I have a gun in my nightstand. If you think things are getting out of hand come out, but if you come charging in here without cause I'll shoot you myself," Isabella said firmly before pushing Arthur toward her room.

Arthur stormed into the room and glanced back at her. "This goes against several of my moral values."

"We're thieves by trade Arthur, our moral values mean very little in the middle of the night," Isabella replied before shutting her bedroom door. She straightened out her dress and quickly crossed to the front door. She unlocked it and threw it open with a bright smile.

"What took so long," Gabriel demanded.

"I was in the bathroom darling, I'm so sorry. Come in," she said waving him inside. "I packed your things, I would have sent them to Clarissa's flat but I didn't know the address. I assumed you would be back for them though."

Gabriel kicked over the basket of clothes and started at her angrily. "What makes you think I'm moving out?"

"The fact that you cheated on me with Clarissa? Or maybe because we broke up, take your pick." Isabella kept her back to the bedroom door hoping Arthur wasn't listening to this conversation but knowing he was.

"You don't get to make that decision," Gabriel snapped as he threw a picture frame against the wall.

Isabella flinched slightly, it was a funny conundrum. Violence in a dream rarely phased her, things getting thrown at her, people shooting at her, it was part of the job. In reality though, it terrified her. She briefly wished she'd accepted Arthur's offer to handle the situation. She plastered on a fake smile and turned the full power of her charm on.

"Gabriel darling, perhaps you don't remember but it was you who said you didn't want to be in a relationship any longer. I am simply giving you what you want. Now it is late and I have things to do tomorrow so if you could take your things and leave I would appreciate it," Isabella said confidently.

On the other side of the door Arthur nodded at her performance. Her control was impeccable, despite whatever she was feeling she was still handling the situation with grace and precision. The crack of skin hitting skin caused Arthur to clinch his fists. She'd told him to not come out unless it was absolutely necessary.

Isabella stumbled back from being slapped, she could taste the blood on her lips. She reached an arm behind her wondering how far she was from the bedroom door.

"I'm not leaving," Gabriel said viciously as he came toward her again. Isabella reacted quickly and grabbed a large book hitting him over the head with it. He collided with her, slamming her into the wall outside her bedroom.

"Isabella what are you doing," Arthur demanded as he threw the bedroom door open. He'd decided to take the confused and slightly out of it route instead of confronting the asshole head on. "You have company I see."

"No shit Sherlock," Gabriel snapped. "Who the hell are you?"

"Friend from the states," Arthur said with a shrug. "You are?"

"Her boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend," Isabella replied as she stepped closer to Arthur. She turned to look at him, letting him see the blood on her lips.

"Are you all right," Arthur asked gently turning her face to examine the wound.

"I tripped," Isabella said meeting Arthur's gaze. She knew he had heard Gabriel hit her, she didn't need to say it to him.

Arthur's control started to slip when she met his gaze. He hadn't expected her to lie outright about what had happened. "You should go," he said looking at Gabriel for the first time.

"I think you are the one who should leave," Gabriel replied.

"I'm not going anywhere, now I suggest you leave before I make you leave," Arthur replied, his voice was low and incredibly threatening. He didn't look like much of a fighter, but Isabella was willing to put her money on him.

"No," Gabriel said as he grabbed Isabella's other arm and pulled her toward him.

Arthur reacted quickly pulling Isabella free and shoving the other man toward the door. He manuvered Isabella behind him and pointed to the door. "Last chance, go now and don't come back here," Arthur said lowly.

"I like your new security puppy Is, he's quite amusing," Gabriel replied leering at her over Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur reached behind him pulling the gun the waist of his dress pants. He released the safety in one fluid motion. He pointed it at Gabriel's forehead and smirked slightly. "You don't know me, but you can tell this isn't my first time handling a gun. It's beginning to dawn on you that I know how to kill with it, and I won't hesitate to do so. Now I'm going to be a gentleman and offer you one last chance. Leave and don't come back here, or I will kill you and no one will ever find your body."

Isabella turned her head to look at Arthur stunned by his speech. Gabriel held up his hands and backed out the front door careful to not turn his back in fear that Arthur would shoot him. They waited until they heard the elevator ding closed before either of them moved. Isabella quickly crossed the room, shut the front door and locked it back. Arthur put the safety back on the gun and set it on an end table.

"That speech was impressive," Isabella said as she turned to look at him. She gasped when she realized Arthur had crossed the room and was standing right behind her. One hand rested on her arm and the other reached up to examine where Gabriel had hit her. "I'm fine."

Arthur avoided her gaze as he motioned for her to sit on the sofa. He went into the kitchen and pulled a bag of peas out of the freezer. How clichéd was it to always have a bag of peas around for just such an occasion? Arthur stormed back into the living room and handed them to her.

"What are you doing with a man like that," he asked through clenched teeth.

"I was dating him," Isabella replied as she pressed the bag to her face.

Arthur sneered at her, obviously displeased by her response. "Not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny Arthur."

"Then tell me why you constantly choose men who treat you badly."

Isabella avoided his gaze as she sat there silently. Arthur sat down next to her and stared up at the ceiling. "Do you enjoy being mistreated? Having a jealous boyfriend constantly fighting over you?"

"Stop it," Isabella whispered.

"Not until you explain it to me," Arthur replied harshly. "Why would you constantly put yourself through this? Since you've turned 18 every time you go to the hospital it is some way related to domestic abuse! There was the car crash caused by a jealous boyfriend in Venice, the robbery by an ex in London, the bar fight in Chicago, it all started with the rape in…,"

"Stop it," Isabella screamed as she threw the bag of peas at him. "I don't owe you any sort of explanation Arthur! Why do you care if I let men mistreat me? Maybe it's all I've ever known, maybe I can't help choosing a man that will hurt me, maybe I deserve it! Have you considered that?"

"How could you possibly deserve so much abuse?" Arthur stared at her, confusion and anger washing through him. How could someone who seemed on one hand so sweet yet at the same time so calculating possibly deserve to be mistreated in such ways?

Isabella stared right back at him not wanting to be the one to give him the answer. She'd only told 3 other people about it, her mother, her therapist, and her brother. Of course Eames probably didn't remember because it was a conversation that happened late one night after much drinking. Her mother chose to ignore it and her therapist has written down everything she said then filed it away somewhere. That was how Isabella dealt with it, she simply filed it away refusing to acknowledge what had happened, what her own father had done to her.

"You're so good with the research you figure it out," Isabella snapped before leaping off the sofa and storming back into her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and locked it, hoping to keep him at bay. She knew that eventually she would have to open the door, eventually she was going to have to talk to him. At some point she had to deal with everything, but right now she just couldn't.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Arthur had fallen asleep on the sofa in his suit, after their argument Isabella hadn't been able to go back to sleep and had sat up the rest of the night staring blankly out her window. The sun finally began to peek over the buildings when she stepped into her bathroom, showered, and brushed her teeth.

The sound of the shower woke Arthur. He sat up slowly stretching and glancing around the apartment. The bag of peas lay in a puddle near the door. Arthur stood up and brushed his hands over his hopelessly wrinkled suit. He'd have to stop at his apartment to change before meeting Dom and the rest of the team. He headed into the kitchen and emptied the cold coffee out of the pot. He brewed a fresh pot while he waited on Isabella.

Arthur would be the first to admit that he had lost his cool last night. Part of him hadn't meant to push her so hard but another part of him wanted answers. He felt a connection to her, he'd be stupid to deny it. They were more alike than he wanted to admit. Obviously both of them were dealing with past pain related to a parent, but while Arthur avoided relationships to avoid the pain, Isabella dove head first into terrible ones.

"Hi," she said softly surprising him.

Arthur turned away from the coffee pot and briefly met her gaze. "You sleep ok," he asked.

"No, you," she asked.

"Ok, listen about last night, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you like that," Arthur explained.

"March 15, 2003," Isabella said avoiding his gaze.

Arthur stared at her in confusion. "Is that your birthday?"

"Do I look 8 to you," Isabella asked with a smirk. Arthur shook his head and waited for her to explain. "There's a file about me, dated March 15, 2003. It will tell you everything you need to know about why I choose the relationships I do."

"You know that I am going to look into it," Arthur pointed out.

"I know," Isabella said as she pulled out a coffee cup. She quickly poured some coffee and turned back to him. "Maybe once you understand you'll open up. Dom was easy to read, a lot of his past was easily researched. There's not a lot about you Arthur. If I'm going to get into your mind I need to understand how it works, why you make the choices that you do, and I need you to trust me. Knowing I'm trying to break into your mind makes it easier for you to stop me. Hopefully if you trust me going in, it won't be as difficult."

"You could always tell me what's in the file," Arthur pointed out.

"You're the point man, the researcher, you figure it out. Besides there are only 3 other people who know about this," Isabella replied. "But what you find stays between us, Eames… well he doesn't need to know about this."

"He doesn't know?"

"I told him once, I don't think he remembers. We've never discussed it."

"You should tell him, whatever it is, he might surprise you," Arthur suggested.

"Trust me, when you read it, you'll understand. If Eames knew he'd… let's just say it wouldn't be pretty," Isabella said with a slight shrug. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"I've got to go to work," Arthur replied glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"You know I have to go with you. I'm supposed to be observing you and Dom said to not let me out of your sight."

"I know, he doesn't want you around Ariadne, so if she comes by can you keep a low profile?"

"Of course, I'll be Eames visiting socialite sister instead of the dream walker you're basically holding hostage," Isabella said with a smirk.

"We're not holding you hostage, we're… examining your talents to see if you could be a useful addition to our team," Arthur explained.

"You're holding me hostage because I know too much about who you are and what you do to let me go, but you can call it 'examining my talents' if you want to Arthur," Isabella allowed. She poured herself another cup of coffee and glanced at Arthur again. "Let me change clothes, then we can head to your place so you can change. A guy like you doesn't wear a wrinkled suit to work, no matter where he slept."

Arthur nodded absentmindedly as she left the kitchen. He sipped his coffee as he waited for her. She reemerged from her room as he finished his cup and began rinsing it out. Isabella set her now empty cup in the sink next to his and reached past him to turn off the coffee maker.

"Ready," she asked easily. She found this whole situation a bit insane. They were acting as though they were friends, maybe a little more. They weren't behaving like two people who had just met and were in an unbelievably complicated situation. Dream walking wasn't as simple as it sounded. If she wasn't careful Arthur could push back into her mind and find out all of her secrets, even the ones she kept buried way down deep.

...

After Arthur showered and changed they headed back to the flat to join the rest of the team. Arthur unlocked the door and pushed it open for Isabella. She stepped inside first and glanced around. No one else had arrived yet, obviously Arthur liked to be the first in. Arthur stepped past her and gestured for her to follow him into his makeshift office.

"So what are you working on," Isabella asked.

"Research for our next job," Arthur explained as he turned on his computer.

"Don't you ever get tired of research?"

"I do more than research. I coordinate every aspect of the dream for the team, architecture, sedatives, forgeries, basic plans, I'm in charge of it all."

"Sounds like a blast," Isabella said as she examined some printouts on Arthur's desk. The door to the flat opened signaling the arrival of another team member. Isabella stuck her head out of the office to see who had come in. Eames smiled sheepishly at her as he headed toward her.

"Good morning," Eames said as he stepped inside with them. "How was your evening?"

"Eventful," Isabella said as she exchanged a glance with Arthur.

"How so," Eames asked curiously.

"An ex stopped by and Arthur threatened to shoot him," Isabella explained before Arthur could say anything.

"Arthur, I'm surprised," Eames said in admiration. "You're normally so even keeled, so level headed. My sister must have certainly made an impression on you to have you threatening to shoot her ex in reality."

"Shut up," Isabella said in irritation. "Where is Dom?"

The door to the flat opened again causing Isabella and Eames to peer out of the office. Dom walked in with another man behind him. "Yusuf," Eames said happily. "How lovely to see you!"

"You too," Yusuf said easily. "And who is this?"

"My sister, Isabella, but I'm sure Dom has already filled you in on those details," Eames explained.

Isabella shook hands with the chemist and smiled brightly. "I'm more infamous than I thought," she said glancing at Dom briefly. "You're planning on putting me under again."

"It's an option," Dom explained. "Yusuf is the best chemist in our field, if anyone can create a sedative that you won't have a reaction to, he can."

"Good luck with that," Isabella said with an easy smile. "No one has been able to do it so far, but if Dom says you're the best I believe him."

The door to the flat opened again and everyone turned to look. Ariadne walked in carefully studying her sketch pad as she crossed to her work station. Arthur froze at his computer as he listened to her cross the room. Ariadne dropped her bag onto the floor next to her station and grabbed a pencil, erasing a line then redrawing several more in its place. Once she was satisfied she looked up feeling several pairs of eyes on her. The group immediately dispersed, heading toward their specific stations. Isabella remained in the doorway to Arthur's office studying Ariadne.

Ariadne stared back, drawing her own conclusions about the woman standing across the room. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and began to cross toward the new woman. "I'm Ariadne," she said strongly holding out her hand. "You must be Eames' sister."

Isabella shook her hand and smiled easily. "I am, I love your scarf, its beautiful."

"Thank you," Ariadne said as she glanced into the office. Arthur was staring at his computer screen avoiding her gaze. "Do you live in Paris?"

"For the time being," Isabella said with a shrug. "I travel a lot, so I guess the world is my address."

Eames snorted loudly at her statement and she flipped him off in response. Ariadne glanced at him before speaking again. "So what do you do? I mean if you're here with us, you must be in the business."

"Isabella," Arthur said suddenly. Isabella turned and met his tense gaze. "Can you give me a hand with something?"

"Of course Arthur," she said with a quick nod. "We'll talk later."

Ariadne paused for a moment before nodding and walking back to her station. Isabella stepped back inside Arthur's office and pretended to look at something on his computer, careful to keep her hands away from his body. "I won't talk to her if it makes you uncomfortable," she offered softly.

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable... I don't want her to... she's just so...," Arthur trailed off, unsure how to explain it.

"She's young, and you don't want her to get too caught up in this world while she still has other options available to her, I didn't have a choice, and I'm guessing you didn't really have one either, you want her to make the decision for herself, seeing me isn't going to help her," Isabella inferred.

Arthur was surprised that she had been able to put all his emotions into just a couple of sentences. He nodded before glancing back at his computer screen. "What do you think of this," he asked.

"Looks good to me," she said before moving to the chair in the corner of his office. She sat down and pulled a book out of her bag. "Let me know if you actually need me to do something, otherwise I'll be over here."


End file.
